Why aren't 60% of line managers coaching their people?

Is the failure of managers to bring out the best in their teams a key reason for the UK’s poor productivity?

The National Audit Office reported earlier this year that productivity in the UK is more than 30% down on our major competitors, the US and Germany. One key reason for this is that, according to research by The Training Foundation, more than 60% of line managers are failing to actively develop their team members’ skills and competencies. While 85% admit that their role includes people-development, less than 40% claim to do this systematically and effectively.

When faced with performance issues in their teams, rather than spending time to first understand the reasons – which can be disparate and nothing to do with inadequate training – many managers reach for the phone and pass the problem to the L&D team.